Car-coupling.



W. McCONWAY, JR. & W. J. REGAN.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12. 1914.

1,148,030. Patented July 27, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

wmmw $14M 7 T T orrion.

WILLIAM MQGONWAY, JR, AND WILLIAM J. BEGAN, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIGNORS To THE MQCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYL-vANIA, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLIN G.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2'7, 1915.

Application filed May 12, 1914. Serial No. 838,141.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, VVILLIAM MoCoN- WAY,Jr., and WILLIAM J. REGAN, citizens of the United States, residing atPittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and we dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and I use the same.

Our invention relates to the construction of car couplers whereinprovision is to be made for the vertical adjustment of the coupler tocompensate for wear of any character or any permanent set of parts whichmay cause the coupler to sag or droop from its normal position. As thisdrooping or deflection from normal position may occur in any class-ofcouplers our invention is therefore to be taken as pertaining to any andevery class of car couplers where found applicable to correct suchdefects. The invention is, however, directed more especially to thatclass of car couplers commonly termed locomotive or tender couplerswherein are combined a bracket having a pocket member for the receptionof the shank of a coupler, a coupler having a shank which enters thepocket member of the bracket, and a pivotal connection between thebracket and the coupler shank, and in which class of couplers thecompensation for wear or other causes of drooping has heretofore beencommonly effected by the insertion of shims in the pocket of the bracketeither above or below the shank of the coupler as the necessities ofadjustment demanded.

Our invention, generally stated, involves the combination of a brackethaving a shank-receiving pocket, a coupler having a bifurcated shank, asupporting member adapted to be entered in the bifurcation of the shankin a plurality of positions, and a pivot pin adapted to pivotallyconnect the bracket and coupler shank and'to confine the supportingmember within the bifurca- 7 tion of the coupler shank.

There are other features of invention, in- ,volving particularcombinations as well as special features of elemental construction,

I r all as will hereinafter more fully appear.-

I tender.

In the drawings chosen for the purpose of illustrating our invention,the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure l is a plan viewof a coupler embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesection of the coupler taken in the plane of the line 22, Fig. 1, thebracket and pocket being shown in front elevation; Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional view of the bracket and pocket, the coupler beingshown in plan and at one extreme of its lateral movement; Fig. 4 is aview similar to Fig. 3, except that the supporting member which passesthrough the bifurcated coupler shank has been reversed to elevate thecoupler; Fig. 5 is a vertical central section of the bracket, theshank-receiving pocket thereof, and a portion of the coupler shank, thecoupler head being shown in side elevation; Fig. 6 is a horizontalsectional'view of a bracket and its shank-receiving pocket, showing inplan a coupler and its shank and a modified form of shank-supportingmember; Fig. 7 is a vertical central section of the constructionillustrated in Fig. 6, the coupler head being shown in side elevation;and Fig. 8 is a detached perspective view of the modified form ofsupporting member shown in Figs. 6 and 7 Like symbols refer to likeparts Wherever they occur.

We will now proceed to describe our invention more fully, so that othersskilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a bracket by means of which the coupler isattached to the sill or draft-timber of a locomotive or This bracket isprovided with a pocket-member 2 which receives the shank of a couplerthat is pivotally connected to the pocket-member of the bracket by apivot pin 3.

The pocket member 2 is of greater depth than the shank of the coupler inorder to permit of a vertical adjustment of the couplerwithin andindependently of the pocket; its side walls 2* flare outwardly to permitlateral movement of the coupler shank sufficient for curving; the rearwall of the pocket is preferably curved as at 2", concentrically withthe axis of the pivot pin 3,

, not only-to permit the lateral movementof 7 height of the shank 6 inadvance of the pivot pin 3 the lateral walls of the pocket 2 adjacent toits mouth, or in advance of the pivot pin 3, are provided with recesses2 the bottoms whereof form shelves or seats for a shank supportingdevice f that passes through an opening in the coupler shank and restsat its ends on said shelves.

5 indicates a coupler head having a shank 6, the usual pivoted knuckle5, and the pivot pin 5. The coupler shank 6, however, is bifurcated,that is to say is horizontally slotted as at 6, said slot extending fromthe inner end of the shank toward the coupler head a suflicient distanceto accommodate the forward shank supporting device land permit the endsof such support to enter the recesses 2 in the lateral walls of thepocket 2. This feature of the shank 6 permits the use of reversibleshanksupporting devices 4 of a character which couldvnot bereadilyintroduced were the aperture or hole therefor in the shank formedwith continu ous walls, unless the size of the aperture 1n the shank wassuch as to materially afl'ect the strength of the coupler.

The ends of the bifurcations of shank 6 are shaped to correspond withthe rear wall of the pocket 2 and its horizontal recesses between theflanges 2, as indicated at 6 in Fig. 5 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3.The shank 6 of the coupler has openings 6 for the passage of the pivotpin 3 whereby the coupler is pivotally connected to the bracket 1 andpocket member 2.

4 indicates the forward shank supporting device in its preferred form,that is to say, as made up of a plurality of spring plates. When soconstructed the pivot hole 6? in the shank will be elongated, asindicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, to accommodate the spring resistedlongitudinal movement of the coupler-shank in buffing.

The shank-support 4 is preferably bent or bowed to accommodate thecoupler in its lateral positions, the apex 4 of the curve,

or angle of the bend, corresponding with the median line or longitudinalaxis of the coupler pocket. The width of the central portion of theshank support 4: is preferably about equal to the distance between theupper and lower arms or branches of the coupler shank 6, but the widthat the ends is increased to form. projections .or legs 4 the position ofwhich with relation to the bottoms of the recesses 52 in the side wallsof the pocket 2 determines the height of the shank 6 above the bottom ofthe pocket.

Under some circumstances it may be desirable, as indicated at 7 in Figs.6, 7 and 8 of the drawings, to use an integral, nonyielding shanksupporting device corresponding in form to the series of springplatesst.This is a form that is easily produced. In this form of construction thepivot pin receiving apertures 6 in the shank of the coupler may becircular as the coupler is not designed to reciprocate in its directionof length. Except for the diiferences just mentioned the. constructionshown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings is substantially the same asthat previously described and, accordingly, corresponding referencecharacters have been applied thereto.

In assembling the parts, the bracket member 1 is secured in positionupon the draftbeam of a locomotive or tender, as the case may be, theends of the shank supporting device L are inserted in the recesses 2 ofthe pocket 2, the shank (5 of the coupler 5 is inserted in the pocket 2so as to straddle the shank supporting device 4, and the pivot pin 3 isthen inserted in the pivot openings of the pocket member and shank.

f the coupler is to occupy a lowered position the shank supportingdevice 4 is inserted in the recesses 2 with the projections d extendingupwardly, as indicated in Fig. 2- of the drawings; but if the coupler isto occupy a higher position, to compensate for the set or weakness ofsprings, wear on wheels, and the like, the position of the support 4: isreversed so that the legs or projections 4 extend downwardly and rest onthe bottoms of the recesses 2 as indicated in Fig. 41. of the drawings.In this latter position of adjustment the coupler shank will be abovethe bottom of the pocket 2 a distance about equal to the length of theprojections or legs at".

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a pocketmember, a coupler having a bifurcated shank extendinginto the pocket ofsaid pocket member, and a supporting device extending through said shankand vertically sustaining the said shank in the pocket member.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a pocketmember, a coupler having a slotted shank, and resilient means extendingthrough said shank and serving to prevent vertical movement in thepocket member.

3. In a device of the character described, thecombination of a pocketmember, a coupler having a bifurcated shank, and a supporting device forpreventing the vertical movement of the coupler shank in the pocketmember, said supporting device being of reduced width intermediate ofits ends.

i. In a device of the character described, the combination of a pocketmember, a coupler having a bifurcated shank, and a supporting device forpreventing the vertical movement of the coupler shank in the pocketmember, said supporting device being comprised of a plurality ofresilient plates.

5. In a device of the character described,

the combination of a pocket member having pivot pin openings in its topand bottom.

walls, recesses in its side walls in advance of the pin openings andprojections on its rear wall, a coupler having a bifurcated shank, asupporting device for preventing the vertical movement of the couplershank in the pocket, the ends of said supporting device being adapted toenter the recesses in the side Walls of the pocket, and the inner end ofthe coupler shank being adapted to engage the projections on the rearwall of the pocket, and a pivot pin for pivotallv connecting the pocketmember and the coupler shank.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with a pocketmember, of a coupler movably mounted in said pocket member, and springsfor yieldingly resisting a movement of the coupler in its direction oflength, said springs also serving to sustain the coupler againstdownward movement with respect to the pocket member.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with a pocketmember, of a coupler movably connected thereto, and a spring forpermitting the coupler to move in its direction of length with respectto the pocket member and for sustaining the coupler against downwardmovement with respect to the pocket member, said spring WILLIAMMcOONWAY, JR. WILLIAM J. REGAN.

Vitnesses:

ENOCH GEORGE, Jr., WM. ROGERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

